


Lack of Communication

by Truth



Category: Godzilla: Final Wars
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 19:45:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/299383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Truth/pseuds/Truth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ozaki had never considered himself a diplomat of any sort.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lack of Communication

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zebra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zebra/gifts).



> Given the extremely flexible nature of the Godzilla universe, I chose not to use either Godzilla Jr or Manilla for the smaller Godzilla, as I can't figure out if they're actually the same creature or not and don't remember enough about the movies in question. Apologies.

"Civilization. Who needs it?"

Ozaki didn't even roll his eyes, perhaps because he wasn't sure he didn't agree. "Commander Namikawa –"

"Commander of what? You, me… and a big damn pile of rubble." Gordon snorted. "Everyone else is busy with your girl and her pond scum."

The two men, accompanied by a small black dog with an improbable rhinestone collar, had found a perch above the rubble-choked ruin that had once been Tokyo. Far below could be seen a group of survivors excavating what was left of a tiny city park.

"Algae," Ozaki corrected him absently.

"That's what pond scum is, boy. Keep up." Gordon knelt to scratch the dog behind the ears. "Point being, she's not really in command of anything, and the politician ain't helping."

"That's not fair." Ozaki frowned, shading his eyes as he looked down at the people working below. "They're working very hard."

"I didn't say they weren't working. I said they weren't in command." Gordon chuckled as the dog rolled over onto her back, tongue lolling, and offered her stomach for rubbing. He indulged her. "Candy, you're a spoiled little princess."

"We're all working to-"

Gordon cut him off. "Boy, that ain't the way the world works. There's a world full of people out there. All the former power-houses have lost either governments or most of their economic base. The Earth Defense Force has been shattered, and what's left of the command structure is trapped here. What we've got is chaos, and that demands action and that demands someone in charge. Just because the United Nations likes to talk about World Peace don't mean they can enforce a damn thing. Especially now."

Ozaki did roll his eyes this time. "The Xilians may not have wiped out civilization, but they did a fine job of destroying communications. We can't even find out what's going on twenty miles away, much less in the next country. We're on an island, remember?"

"History'll tell you what a swell idea that is. Defensible, yes. A good place to coordinate global defense from? Not so much." Gordon rose to his feet, Candy tucked into the crook of his arm. "No matter what the cartoons might tell you."

"With respect, sir, you're a jerk."

Gordon grinned at him. "One of us has to be."

"Why is that always the answer?" Ozaki frowned, casting a last glance at the group in the park before following Gordon down the that had once been a small office building. "Why can't we solve things without resorting to –"

"I like your idealism, boy." Gordon was still grinning as he talked right over Ozaki. "But the whole of human history is just one great big game of 'who's the bigger asshole', and the Xilians just raised the stakes a bit. And they're hardly the first. I'm not saying you need to be a jerk, just that you can't ignore the fact that other people are – and plan accordingly."

"You want us to build a giant fort and throw rocks at anyone who comes too close?" Okazi swung past Gordon and dropped to the pavement. "At least we won't lack for building materials. Maybe we could put in a moat."

"Sarcasm. I like it." Gordon also stepped off the edge, cradling Candy as his boots hit the pavement. "I was thinking more of clearing a runway for conventional aircraft, as we're out of flying power ourselves, and waiting for what's left of the EDF to send someone over to investigate."

"You're thinking someone's going to actually send a plane over here and hope we have a runway cleared?"

"I'm hoping someone has a heavy duty helicopter and a lot of curiosity. Don't you usually have a flock of contractors from the mainland in here every time Godzilla trashes the place? They're practically overdue."

Ozaki took a long, slow breath, visibly seeking patience. "I begin to see why Commander Namikawa had you locked up."

"Nah, that was all about me nearly getting us all killed." Gordon shrugged, magnificently uncaring. "She's been out of combat for too long. Sometimes risks have to be taken, and when you get mixed up with politics, you forget that."

"If you say so."

"I do." Gordon was grinning again, kneeling to let Candy leap to the ground. "Now let's go check in on your lady friend and her pond scum."

The pond scum in question was, in point of fact, a program that had been well underway at the University of Agriculture and Technology before the Xilians arrived and proceeded to smash Tokyo to bits in a way that everyone was sadly familiar with – if mostly in a historical sense.

"- viable food source, but it's not enough to feed the survivors. Not in a city of this size."

Miyuki had held forth to a small army of volunteers, mostly because the campus hadn't suffered too much damage and a lot of the refugees from the surrounding ruins had taken refuge at the University. Food was a major concern here within the devastated city, not that the countryside around wasn't rallying, but there were suddenly thousands of mouths to feed in the midst of a wasteland. Miyuki had waded into the chaos, taking command through sheer force of personality and the unexpected ability to shout very loudly and sound polite at the same time. Her academic position with the United Nations helped with assertion of authority, but not as much as her determination.

Having Gordon and Ozaki standing behind her, arms folded and expressions uncompromising probably helped, but she hadn't really needed their back-up.

"I'm a molecular biologist, not an agrarian. Until we get things rebuilt, my experience working with and for government and large corporations is the most valuable thing I can offer. We must put aside our competitive habits –"

That was when Gordon started muttering under his breath about other, more useful things he could be doing, beginning with laundry, and Ozaki missed the rest of her speech. When it was over, however, Miyuki was firmly in charge of finding a way to feed the survivors until external sources of supply could be found..

In the chaos that followed the destruction of Tokyo, the terrified survivors huddled together in various shelters or struck out for former places of order and safety. As people strove to pull some kind of order from the mess, more and more people turned up with various bits and pieces to help bring that order even more quickly. Ham radios, walkie-talkies, a cage full of chickens, a few baskets of fresh fruit, bicycles, work gloves, sledgehammers – value was found in the most common of items.

The university attracted a large number of those seeking shelter and bringing what they could. Miyuki found herself in the middle of a huge endeavor, loud-hailer in hand and a small gang of assistants sorting out those who could be of the most help and those who needed that help the most urgently. A few enterprising students had set out toward the west coast with air horns and notebooks and a quick guide to Morse Code, attempting to set up a relay to allow long distance communication. Another group was down at the port, attempting to clear away the flotsam and searching for a ship that might still be sea-worthy.

The Xilian attempt to smash civilization had concentrated on technological centers, shipping and communications. They'd done a fine job, by all accounts, and while Miyuki was buried under Tokyo's rubble, Commander Namikawa and Secretary-General Daigo were busily engaged in attempting to establish contact with the outside world. They'd set up camp in one of the shelters down by the port, helping with the salvage efforts and attempting to build a crude radio tower. They were also attempting to rebuild local and national government, not the easiest of tasks until full communication was reestablished.

"Keeps 'em out of trouble and out of my business," was Gordon's comment as he parted ways with Ozaki outside the shattered doors of the main university building. "But that don't mean I'm not going to keep an eye on them. Go along and see your girl, Ozaki. I'll catch up with you later."

Ozaki had given up on the 'your girl' thing almost a week ago. Not that he didn't like Miyuki. In fact, he'd become very fond of her. But Miyuki wasn't the sort of woman to call 'girl', much less in a way that might imply possession - which was, quite possibly, the thing he liked about her the best.

He waved a casual good-bye to Gordon and Candy, stepping carefully through the gaping holes where once huge glass doors had hung and heading further into the building.

"-contained tanks, but we have few enough of those. If we can salvage any of the fish pens, perhaps we can repair and sterilize a few public pools for use in accelerating edible algae growth and fish farming."

Miyuki glanced up from her notes as Ozaki appeared in the doorway of the lecture room. She turned for a whispered consultation with one of her assistants as she gathered up her files.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Ozaki said softly, holding the door for her as she joined him and trying to ignore the dirty look shot at him by the presenter.

"You didn't," Miyuki assured him. Once the door was safely closed behind them, she turned to him, expression comically grim. "If I have to sit through one more lecture on basic food production, I'm going to set fire to someone. I realize that it has to be taken down to basics for the volunteers, but I don't really have to be there for every single presentation and … yes. Setting fire to people. With my mind." She gave him a half-smile. "Perhaps it's just as well that I'm not the mutant."

"Do you want me to try it?" Ozaki reached back for the handle of the door.

She actually laughed, biting it off quickly in an attempt to look solemn. "Thank you, but I think the imaginary version will have to do."

"I thought you enjoyed this sort of thing?"

Miyuki made a horrified face. "Oh, oh no. Working for the United Nations was an opportunity to see things, to do things. Administration is the price you pay, not the reward." She shivered dramatically and turned away. "Research and exchanging ideas with other experts is amazing. I love my work and the joy of discovery, but administration is the antithesis of that." She hugged her files and scowled. "This is your fault."

"What?"

"Come with me."

Frowning, Ozaki did.

Miyuki had taken possession of the office of the now-deceased head of chemistry. It was assumed he was deceased, at any rate. No one had seen him since before Mothra's appearance the week before. In his absence, Miyuki had made herself a sanctuary amidst his abandoned molecular models.

As he closed the door behind him, Ozaki demanded, "My fault? What did I do?"

"Nagikawa and the Secretary General are working to establish communication. Gordon is bullying his volunteers into clearing away rubble. Anna is organizing teams to find and open the bunkers and shelters that are still buried. I'm stuck here, wrangling a group of academics and volunteers while they work to produce something of immediate, practical use when it comes to food production." She set down her files on the desk and turned to face him. "What, exactly, are you doing?"

Ozaki attempted to look insulted, but gave up with a sigh. "I've been assisting Gordon."

"That man is like an avalanche. Once started, he doesn't need any help," Miyuki told him. "You have amazing powers, Ozaki. You can't go back to being someone's flunky. You should – "

That was insulting. "What do you mean, 'flunky'?"

Miyuki made a face. "Ozaki, you were a soldier. You're used to following orders. The time for that is long past, yet you've fallen right back into doing whatever you're told."

"I'm still a member of –"

"Of what? The EDF? Possibly, depending on whether or not it still exists. M-Unit? You'd be the only remaining member. Do you really think that assisting Gordon with rubble removal is the most valuable thing you have to offer?" Miyuki asked.

There was a long silence as Ozaki looked past her and out the cracked window of her office.

"I know there's still a lot to process, Ozaki." Miyuki let go of her frustration with a sigh. She leaned back against her desk and folded her arms, taking in his tense, unhappy expression. "It's been hard on everyone, but you? You're more. You can do more."

"Am I?" Ozaki's continued to stare out at the late afternoon sun and the stark shadows cast by the shattered metropolis outside. "We can't trust anything the Xilians said. Maybe it's true. Maybe it's not."

"Maybe the rest of us are convinced, but are you content with that? The uncertainty of 'maybe'?"

He focused on her, a far more pleasant view than that outside her window. "No, but setting fire to innocent people aside, what would you suggest I do in order to test the truth of it?"

"Oh Ozaki." Miyuki's expression was a fine mix of impatience and disbelief. "Do you really believe we've seen the last of the Xilians? That their entire culture and population were held within that single ship?"

"You think they'll be back." Gordon certainly did, but this was the first Miyuki had spoken of it.

"I'm certain of it. Look at us, Ozaki. We're already rebuilding, or at least concentrating on clearing things away so the rebuilding can begin. They're looking for a source of food, and were more Xilians to arrive, we'd be defenseless." Miyuki brought her hand down sharply against her desk, resulting in a loud noise that made her jump. She flushed slightly at the melodrama of the gesture, and continued. "We only have one real weapon, Ozaki – and that's you."

"I'm not the one that defeated – "

"Weren't you? Godzilla might have finished the job, but you began it. You also had a hand in helping Godzilla, there at the end."

"It wouldn't have ended so well without Godzilla," Ozaki pointed out.

"Or the other way around. Maybe that's what you need to do, Ozaki, the one thing that no one else can."

Ozaki stared at her, surprised by her fierce conviction. "You want me to go looking for Godzilla? On purpose?"

"If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it. We need something to hold the Xilians at bay, and we have to work with what we have."

'We have to work with what we have' had become a catchphrase for the effort to feed and shelter the survivors of the recent conflict and Ozaki's shoulders straightened at the reminder. "It's a place to start, I suppose."

It was far easier said than done.

"You can't possibly be serious."

Once upon a time, in the none-too-distant past, Ozaki would've quailed in the face of official disapproval. Ever since the conflict and revelations within the Xilian sphere, however, it no longer phased him.

Perhaps it was the continued exposure to Gordon.

Habit and respect kept him at attention before Commander Namikawa's desk, shoulders back and chin held high. "Miyuki is right, Commander. We have years of work ahead of us here in Japan, and the rest of the world is in no better shape."

Commander Namikawa raised en eyebrow. "And bringing Godzilla into it will help matters somehow? I realize that many jokes have been made about Godzilla and urban renewal, but I fail to see how this could possibly improve matters."

"In the face of alien invasion, it seemed the lesser of two evils, but I think I must agree with the Commander. Godzilla is hardly likely to be of much help in rebuilding, however dedicated to knocking things down." Secretary General Daigo cocked an eyebrow. "Unless you know something that we don't?"

"Despite being left in possession of our lives, I cannot imagine that any effort to disturb that particular creature will end well."

"Maybe." Ozaki looked down at the map spread across Namikawa's desk and the areas marked off as still standing and those nothing more than rubble. He found his eyes lingering on the area where the M-Unit's headquarters had once stood, surrounded by the heavy black border that denoted destruction. "But without Godzilla, we stand almost no chance of holding off another attack."

"With him, we may not have to wait for the Xilians to finish the job." Namikawa shook her head. "We might also possibly lose our current best defense in the process. Had you thought of that, Ozaki?"

"In disturbingly graphic detail, but what choice do we have?" Ozaki shrugged irritably.

"We could wait until the Xilians actually appear. They have no way of knowing what happened to the group that landed here, and I imagine Godzilla would react badly to their return." Daigo patted Ozaki on the back.

"Imagination will only carry us so far." Ozaki took the contact as permission to relax. "We need to know exactly what our options are before that happens – especially if this group kept in contact with whatever others of their race are out there, looking for food."

"The kid's right." Gordon had scrounged up a cowboy hat somewhere. Currently it was pushed to the back of his head and, combined with his current pose, was possibly part of some plan to get Namikawa to throw him out of her office. "In order to plan a realistic defense, we need to know exactly what we're dealing with."

Namikawa looked down at where Gordon's booted feet were resting on the corner of her desk. "I thought offense was your strong point, Gordon?"

He gave her smile that was more like a baring of teeth.

She ignored it. "However true that might normally be, at the present, Ozaki is our best defense and the only weapon we have that has been proven to work against the Xilians."

"Not the only one."

"Weapon?" Ozaki demanded.

"It would be folly to risk your life on the very slim chance that you could somehow establish contact with Godzilla, regardless of the outcome," Daigo said.

"It's my life to risk."

"No it isn't. You're a member of –"

"Of what?" Ozaki reached out to press his hand against the black splotch that had once been his home. Miyuki's words had made an impression, and he was determined to carry through. "There might be a few administration people here and there, a soldier or two who was out on leave, but M Unit is gone. The Xilians saw to that."

"You want to waste his potential by keeping him hanging around here? Right now there's not much he can do that we can't get done without him." Gordon shoved his improbable hat to the back of his head. "Or with a really large earth mover – and it won't get tired."

"The risk is not worth the potential payoff," Daigo made a calming gesture, stepping prudently between Namikawa and her view of Gordon.

"I'm not so sure." Everyone looked at Namikawa with surprise. She also was frowning at the black blotch that had once been her headquarters. "We've built and rebuilt so many times, not all of the destruction the fault of rampaging aliens or giant monsters. If we managed to somehow make contact with Godzilla, perhaps we could save lives and the amount of reconstruction needed by future generations."

Gordon started to laugh, but Daigo and Ozaki ignored him, their attention instead on the Commander. "Do you have any idea what you're doing Ozaki?"

He shook his head, shoulders coming back and chin up once more. "But I have to try. There's no else who can."

She gave him a long, measuring look. "Take Major Kumoro – and find one of those radio sets they're building over by the hospital. I want to know exactly what's going on."

"Good luck." Gordon's booted feet hit the floor and he pulled himself to his feet. "You figure that out, you'll have your own super power."

"Gordon." Namikawa looked as though she were fighting a losing battle with a headache.

"Just leaving, Commander." He tipped his hat to her. "Have a nice day."

Ozaki shot her a proper salute and beat a hasty retreat in Gordon's wake.

**

"You're insane." Major Kumoro had been engaged in work down at the port, and he'd shed his uniform in favor of something slightly more waterproof – the sling for his broken arm included. Ozaki had found him at the end of a miraculously intact pier, supervising a cargo crane as they used it to haul wrecks out of the harbor.

"Maybe." There was that word again, and Ozaki frowned. "Something has to be done."

"Godzilla?" Kumoro's eyebrows soared.

"It's something."

"It certainly is." Kumoro waved to one of the men assisting him. "Take over, Yamata."

"Yes, Major."

Kumoro raised an eyebrow as he turned to accompany Ozaki from the pier. "Major. I don't think there's enough of the Earth Defense Force left to justify the title. Either that or I've had a promotion beyond my wildest dreams – at least in terms of seniority."

"You deserve it." Anyone who managed to keep up with Gordon deserved more than mere promotion, as far as Ozaki was concerned. That thought led to another. "I wonder what she sees in him?"

Kumoro gave him a mildly disapproving look, not needing psychic powers to follow Ozak's train of thought.. Anna Otonashi's sudden involvement with Gordon was as obvious as the fact that her dog was, more often than not, to be found with the large, American Colonel as with her petite owner. But gossip was gossip, and you don't gossip about your commanding officer.

Ozaki shrugged. "Miyuki talks about it. It's her sister, after all."

The expression of disapproval did not shift. Ozaki gave in. "Godzilla."

"Godzilla." Kumoro pulled off his heavy rubber glove, though doing so one-handed was a bit of an effort. "Have you done any research?"

"Research?" Ozaki blinked. "The EDF files went up with M-Unit, the government buildings are so much rubble and we've still got no links to the outside world… where would I look?"

Kumoro smiled. "The Gotengo."

"What?"

"The computers in the Gotengo. We kept a data library in her memory banks." Kumoro said. "Let me get cleaned up and I'll take you there."

Four hours later found them within the hulk of the Gotengo, Kumoro sitting at his old station. "The engines won't start, not after what she's been through. Can you provide enough power for the computers?"

Ozaki nodded, sliding into his own customary place and reaching for the controls. "I don't know how long I can keep it running," he admitted. "This is still… new."

"I have the secondary drive." Kumoro held it up. "I just need to run an emergency backup. They still have power at the hospital closest to the harbor. We've managed to keep the generators running, though it's been a struggle. We can find a monitor there."

"All right. Ready?"

"Ready."

M-Division had official notices to explain just how mutation affected their members and what made them different and how their powers worked. Ozaki and his teammates hadn't bothered with official jargon, nor with thinking about it very much outside their training. The things they did were just a part of them, like a gymnast being able to do handsprings or a marksman hit a target.

The difficulty of adjusting to a new level and type of power and ability was rooted there, like waking up with a third arm. It might indeed be very useful, but how on earth did you figure out how best to use it?

At least this was something Ozaki had done before. He grasped the controls and concentrated.

Kumoro watched as a soft glow sprang up at Ozaki's station and slowly spread across the bridge of the Gotengo. Displays flickered to life and as the lights and indicators began to hold a solid glow, he plugged in the drive and logged into his own console. "I'll need about twenty minutes."

"I can do that." Ozaki had his eyes closed, frowning down at his own controls. "It's… different. I wouldn't have been able to hold it that long before, but this is easy. Easier."

Ozaki's back was to Kumoro, but the Major found himself watching the young soldier as the files began transferring. "Easier?"

"It's hard to explain. As if your morning run was suddenly at half gravity. Everything's the same, but it takes less effort."

"Have you done any experimenting?"

"Only in the way of heavy lifting and the like. I've been assisting Gordon," Ozaki said. "Nothing esoteric."

"You should find out what your limits are." Kumoro glanced down at the file transfer. "Or is that what this is all about?"

"Gordon was right. There's nothing I can do to help out here that can't be done by someone else, even if it takes a little longer for a human to do it," Ozaki said. "This is something that only I can do."

"You're not the first to try to talk to Godzilla," Kumoro told him. He reached for his terminal with his good hand and flicked open one of the files waiting in the queue. "Have a look."

"I'm guessing it usually involves a lot of shouting and pleading," Ozaki said. "What've you got?"

"Oh, I don't mean humans, although we've done our share of shouting. We've had so many alien visitors and monster invasions you'd think we were a resort." Kumoro opened the file and moved it to the main display. "Godzilla has been seen talking to some of the others, or at least communicating verbally."

Ozaki scanned the brief write-up, watching a silent, grainy video of the described encounter between Anguirus and Godzilla. "So I can talk to Godzilla."

"You can talk," Kumoro agreed. "That doesn't mean Godzilla will listen."

"That's not even the biggest obstacle." Ozaki continued to watch the looping film clip. "How will we find Godzilla?"

"That's a very good question."

They spent the next week going over the collected files on Godzilla, some so old that they were mere scans of newspaper articles and flat black and white pictures. There was a considerable collection of data, from wild rumors and supposition through detailed accounts of scientific research. By the end of the week, Ozaki's head was spinning.

"Godzilla and aliens. Aliens and Godzilla. Unless we wait for another invasion, how will we find the creature?"

"That's a silly question." Anna had been a regular visitor, fascinated by the old files and reports, and she'd spent several afternoons with Kumoro and Ozaki going over the historical accounts.

"What do you mean?" Kumoro looked mildly insulted. "Silly?"

"Silly." Anna fished through the pile of printouts, eventually producing a single photograph and placing it on the wide table between the two men.

"The… baby?" Kumoro and Ozaki stared at the photo of the small, almost cartoonish creature that had followed Godzilla off into the sea.

"How would that be easier to find than Godzilla?" Ozaki demanded. "I'd think that'd be even harder."

"Oh?" Anna gave them a smug little smile and reached for another picture. "Let me guess, you've been reading mostly about destruction and defeating invading alien races?"

"It is a rather important part of the entire project," Kumoro said. "Being very nearly the point of the entire business. The EDF is rather heavily invested in defense, after all. It's right in the name."

Ozaki hid a smile, pleased at Kumoro's exhibition of dry wit. Between Kumoro's broken arm and true sorrow at the current chaos, Ozaki had been afraid he'd never see the Major smile again.

"Then allow me to educate you on the finer points of Godzilla hunting." Anna perched on the table, fanning herself gently with her chosen photograph. "For example, it was the little monster that stepped between Godzilla and the Gotengo, right?"

"Yes. But –" Kumoro cut himself off, looking surprised.

"But?" Ozaki looked up as Anna turned the photograph around, showing a much smaller monster and a small boy. "Oh! The boy and his grandfather. That's not the same boy."

"No." Anna smiled widely, pleased with her victory. "The little one started out amongst humans, and is known to be fond of them. Godzilla may have gone back to whatever place in the sea it calls home, but the little one? It makes friends."

"Friends like that little boy." Kumoro was already on his feet. "Where did they go, he and his grandfather?"

"I don't know. We lost track of them when we reached the university." Ozaki began sorting through the files. "We should – "

"Can you find them?" Anna was back to fanning herself with the photograph. "The boy and his grandfather, I mean."

"Find them?" Ozaki blinked at her. "Isn't that what we're trying to do?"

"No, no. I mean," she made a vague gesture with her free hand. "You're supposed to be a super-being, right? Shouldn't you be able to find one small boy and his grandfather?"

"I've never –"

"Then no time like the present." She hopped off the table and slid the photograph back into the correct stack. "Let me know how things turn out!"

"Is that possible? Can you find them?" Kumoro had gotten halfway to the door before Anna's comment about Ozaki's powers.

"I don't know." Ozaki frowned. "Maybe?"

"Then let's get to work."

It took another two weeks, several amateurish attempts with a pendulum and a set of maps, a great deal of questioning of the other survivors and miles of hiking along the wreckage dotted coastline, but Kumoro and Ozaki eventually found themselves staring at a familiar looking hide poncho hanging outside a tiny hunting shack.

"It looks exactly as I expected," Ozaki said. "Do you think we should walk forward slowly with our hands up?"

"Hello!" Kumoro called out. "Is there anyone here?"

A few bird calls in the distance were the only answer, followed by the raucous call of gulls from the nearby shore.

"Apparently not." Ozaki glanced around, eyes falling on a rack of drying fish. "Down by the water?"

It had been a long hike, and they left their packs beside the shack before heading through the trees toward the shore. The gulls continued their calls, and Kumoro and Ozaki followed the sound until the coarse ground cover and rocks gave way to sand. The distant sound of voices led them on, between large rocks and around a point -

The familiar figures of the little boy and his grandfather became visible, the old man with a net full of fish, and his grandson carrying a surprisingly large fish of his own. After a moment of mutual surprise, the boy, somewhat overburdened by his fish, came running toward them.

“I remember you!” Arms full of fish, he skidded to a halt before the two adults, giving them both a wide grin. "Did you come to see us?"

"I bet they expect us to feed them." The old man was giving them a cynical look over his own burden. "Did you bring anything? Food's scarce, you know."

"We brought a few things," Ozaki admitted, returning the boy's grin. "Did a little scavenging along the way. Kenta, wasn't it?"

Kenta nodded proudly, pleased at being remembered.

Kumoro's attention was on the fish. "That's a tuna, isn't it?"

"It's almost as big as me!"

Only a small exaggeration, but Ozaki's attention was on the grandfather, who was looking almost furtive. "That it is."

"How did you catch it?' Kumoro asked, glancing at the small net held by Kenta's grandfather.

"Fishing rod." The old man brushed past them and headed down the beach, back toward the hunting shack.

Kumoro and Ozaki turned their attention to Kenta, who was busy studying the tuna in his arms.

"A fishing rod?" Kumoro sank to his heels and tried to look Kenta in the eyes.

"Ummmmm."

"Or maybe a friend brought it to you?" Ozaki was trying not to fidget with anticipation. For a deep water fish of that size to end up in Kenta's arms, with no trace of fishing pole and with such a small net? "A… large friend?"

"Kenta!"

Kenta, who had opened his mouth to answer, closed it again and raced away at his grandfather's heels.

Ozaki and Kumoro exchanged a look. "I'll go talk to the grandfather," Kumoro said. "He's obviously afraid the boy will get into trouble for consorting with monsters. I'll see what I can do to allay his fears."

"And I'll go fishing."

By the time Kumoro arrived back at the small hunting shack, Kenta was engaged in happily tending a small fire while his grandfather prepared the bulk of the fish for drying.

"I'm pleased to see you both in good health." Kumoro made himself at home beside the fire, finding himself suddenly in possession of the tuna and the knife.

"Yes, well, only a fool would hang around that mess in Tokyo. Make yourself useful."

It took Kumoro a moment to come up with the old man's name, and he passed the time finding a place where he could work on the tuna. "Taguchi, wasn't it? I remember you."

"Do you?" The old man shot him a suspicious look. "You must. Why else would you be out here?"

"I thought you said only a fool would hang around Tokyo?" Kumoro hid a smile as the old man scowled at him, and turned his attention fully on the tuna.

Ozaki, meanwhile, was walking slowly down the beach, not at all certain of exactly what he was looking for. He kept finding himself staring out at the sea, wondering uneasily if it would be a good or a bad thing to see a giant, reptilian head rising out of the waters. They'd led the huge monster a merry dance in the Gotengo, and it had not been of the mind to forgive or forget. It had been less of an 'us against them' than a 'you are between me and my prey, you giant bastards'.

If it hadn't been for the smaller creature…?

But all the might have beens wouldn't conjure up the thing he most wanted to see. He stopped to stare out at the gulls circling low over the water, listening to the tiny waves break against the rocks. It was oddly peaceful, feeling half a world from Tokyo instead of just out of sight.

Ozaki had spent most of his life inside cities, or inside vessels of war. Unlike Kumoro, who had a healthy love of fishing and the outdoors, Ozaki felt uncomfortable in the wilderness. He had found the lack of running water and electricity to be strange and unnerving, the loss of communication to be actually frightening and yet here, alone with the sound of the sea, it felt right. He waited, watching sunlight dance on the water, wondering at the feeling.

It wasn't until one of the gulls got a little too personal that he realized how long he had been standing, staring out at the water. Giving the dive-bombing bird a dirty look, he turned to start again down the beach, only to freeze as something moved out in the water.

A surge and swell moved against the waves, and Ozaki took a swift step to one side, putting one of the larger rocks between himself and the water. The swell didn't retreat, moving slowly forward until a huge head broke the water – and Ozaki's breath left him with a relieved 'whoosh'.

The rounded head and large eyes that blinked at him curiously were a far cry from the narrow-eyed anger of Godzilla, and Ozaki realized with somewhat light-headed relief, he really was not ready to face that malevolent glare again.

At least not yet.

"Hey." There was something so childish, so almost cartoonish about the smaller monster, that Ozaki found it impossible to feel intimidated. It looked so friendly. Ozaki stepped away from the rock, wishing suddenly that he'd brought some sort of pet treat or toy, and ruthlessly discarding the thought. "Did you come to see Kenta?"

The large eyes blinked at him as the smaller monster pulled itself out of the water, and Ozaki was reminded forcibly that while this creature might be smaller than Godzilla, it still towered over him.

"Ah." He took a step backward in spite of himself, staring upward with apprehension. "So you've been bringing them fish? That's… nice."

The mild tension beside the small campfire was broken by the sound of a nearby foghorn, or close facsimile thereof. Kumoro and Taguchi both jumped, Kumoro's knife barely missing his thumb. Kenta's face brightened with a wide smile. "He's back!"

Taguchi spread his arms and gazed upward, as if praying for patience as Kenta darted away back toward the shore.

Kumoro hid a smile, putting down the knife and rising to his feet. Adjusting his sling, he made a polite gesture to Taguchi. "After you."

Ozaki was suffering a rather damp hug with decidedly poor grace when Kenta came pelting down the shore, waving his arms and shouting a cheerful hello. Clutched firmly within the small monster's arms, he'd given up any hope of dignity and was simply trying to figure out how to convince the damp green arms to let him go.

Taguchi burst into laughter at the sight, watching Kento hug one large green leg and Ozaki attempting none-too-subtly too free himself. Kumoro, on the other hand, did not seem to find it all that funny.

"It's a step in the right direction."

Ozaki ceased his wiggling and gave his superior office a dark look. "A step - how?"

"He likes you. You're obviously doing something right."

**

"And no one had a camera?"

Ozaki glared at Miyuki, who hadn't stopped laughing since first hearing the story. "Thankfully, no. I'm pleased that you find this so entertaining."

She smiled at him, fighting her laughter down to occasional giggles. "I'm sorry, Ozaki. Really, I am. It's just… hugs? Only you could track down a monster and – and –"

He sighed with mild disgust and sank into a chair, ignoring the gales of laughter from the next room where Kumoro was entertaining Anna and Gordon with the story. "It plays fetch with a little boy in the surf, and brings back tuna. I don't think there's any threat from that direction."

"It's more than that." Miyuki smiled at him, trying to hide the expression with her fingers and not doing very well. "It's who you are, Ozaki. I doubt it tried to give Kumoro any hugs. You wanted to communicate, to let it know you weren't there to fight, and it obviously responded to that."

"Ozaki Shinichi, playtoy. I suppose I should be glad it seems to have outgrown the teething stage." Ozaki didn't quite manage to suppress his own wry smile as Miyuki dissolved again into laughter. "But while it might be a step in the right direction, making friends with – with innocent children is not quite the same as attempting to convince Godzilla that we want to make peace."

"It does seem as though any peace terms would have to begin with tying Gordon to a stake somewhere," Miyuki agreed, losing some of her good humor. "And we have no idea how to find Godzilla."

"Even if we did, it seems to prefer the ocean and, mutant or not, I can't hold my breath long enough to follow the little monster there." Ozaki shot a disgusted look in the direction of the kitchen, where laughter continued to rise and fall. "It wasn't that funny."

"You're kidding, right?" Gordon appeared in the doorway, clad incongruously in an apron, half of a fish in one hand. "Its hilarious. Thanks for the fish, by the way, Ozaki. Think you could convince the little guy to bring in a swordfish?"

"You're still a jerk."

"I like swordfish." Gordon grinned at them both. "You've got an hour till dinner, kids. Stay out of trouble."

"We'll figure something out," Miyuki assured Ozaki as Gordon vanished back into the kitchen. "If only we were able to repair the Gotengo. We've managed to make contact with Korea, but they have no planes or anything larger than fishing trawlers, and no real outside contact either."

"Not even with the radio?" In the weeks when Ozaki and Kumoro had been gone, great progress had been made both in clearing out the port and in communications. They had a powerful radio and had managed to put together a communications station. "I thought it was supposed to have a really amazing range."

"It does." Miyuki shrugged. "But while we can pick up a few ham radio operators here and there, most of them were far from actual events – which is why they're still alive and have operating radio sets. There's a farmer in America, a shepherd in Ireland, a woman at a weather station in Greenland and so on…. Contact with whatever's left of the EDF has proved impossible. Primary sources all relied on satellite communication, and the emergency radio frequencies remain silent. We have a few of the braver operators trying to explore what's left of the Xilian military targets and they're rebuilding a network. News is slowly coming in, but the chances of finding a team that can repair the Gotengo are slim."

Ozaki sighed and sank into a chair. "Are there no salvageable ships in the harbor?"

"Nothing Namikawa thinks would survive a good-sized storm at sea." Miyuki came to perch on the arm of his chair. "Unless you want to try one of the surviving container ships."

"No thank you." Ozaki made a face. "I don't think standing on the shore and thinking friendly thoughts is going to get us very far, but doing the same thing aboard a huge target, bobbing along, just asking to be broken apart and dragged to the depths is even less attractive."

"Something will turn up." Miyuki rested a hand on his shoulder. "We've made some amazing progress for the time we've had. We're moving refugees out to the edge of the city now, and getting them into the countryside where there's food and water."

The city itself was still a barren wasteland without food or running water, and getting people out to where there were still growing crops and clean water had been a priority. The survivors were pulling together, but priorities were food sources, reliable shelter, communication, scavenging of useful items and clearing the port.

It was this last effort that eventually provided the answer they were seeking. Several days after Gordon's fish dinner, a runner arrived from the port, out of breath and wearing a wide grin.

"There's a submarine just outside the harbor! They've run up an Australian flag and just launched a boat. The Secretary-General wants to see you down by the pier right away!"

While the initial greeting was joyful and full of wide smiles and salutes, the smaller, private meeting between the new arrivals, Secretary-General Daigo and Commander Namikawa was not exactly cheerful.

"Are you insane?" The commander of the Australian submarine HMAS Collins had not taken the Secretary General's attempt to commandeer his ship in a positive light. "We've only just taken this ship out of mothballs – the only reason why it's still in working order, I might add, and you want me to take it on some wild goose chase after the monster that destroyed Sydney?"

"It may be an antique," Daigo agreed, making a soothing gesture with his hands, "but it is obviously seaworthy. We need to re-establish Earth's defenses as quickly as possible, and –"

"Absolutely not." Commander Nothling scowled as he looked from Commander Namikawa to the Secretary General. "I've orders to make contact with as many other countries as I can and to –"

"I understand your concerns and admire your devotion to duty," Daigo said. "But in this particular case, the two need not be exclusive."

"Yes, I think they do. We don't know what sort of resources we're left with. Australia has a few ships, no airfleet and a single, antique submarine. You have – what do you have?" Nothling demanded.

"A small fleet of fishing vessels, four news helicopters, a group of container ships, two small personal planes and six hot air balloons," Commander Namikawa responded promptly. "That we know of."

"Wait." Daigo was frowning, considering the question. "We hadn't considered antiques. Would you be willing to take our man aboard and continue your voyage as far as Kure? I remember visiting it as a boy, and there is a submarine there as well. If the museum there has survived, the Akishio might still be intact – and we might be able to restore it to working condition. If the Xilians were concentrating on military and political targets and large populations, we might be able to find other historic vessels that we can put back into service."

Nothling gave him a wary look. "As far as Kure, then, but no further. We set sail from Sydney, and the mess there convinced me, as nothing else could, that I've no desire for my crew to meet the creature that made it."

When the Collins left Tokyo, Ozaki was aboard. It was both familiar and uncomfortable to find himself in the antique submarine. He'd never been just a passenger, and found the feeling confining. There'd been a feeling of power and freedom that came with travel with the Gotengo. He'd had a place and a duty, surrounded by his fellows and venturing forth to keep the peace. Now he was confined in a tiny cabin, informed politely, if flatly, to stay out of the way of the crew.

Staring up at the ceiling, he found himself nearly overwhelmed by a rush of regret that felt like homesickness. There were only three survivors of the crew of the Gotenga. Even if they managed to repair the vessel, it would never be the same. It was unlikely that they'd allow Ozaki to return to his former position in any case. He was too 'important' now, and he could feel resentment mixing with the regret.

With nothing else to do, Ozaki fell into an uneasy slumber, determined to rest until they reached Kure.

"Sir, I've got… something."

Commander Nothling looked up from his calculations with a tired scowl. Between rampaging monsters and alien energy weapons, navigating coastal waters had become a new and exciting sort of nightmare. Even where things hadn't become churned up enough to actually make the older charts completely inaccurate, derelicts and debris were everywhere. Their progress was extremely slow and cautious even when they were in open water, and they stayed at periscope depth whenever possible. 'Something' had become a common declaration and it was one he'd grown to hate.

"Could you be more specific, Evans?"

"Wish I could, sir." The sonarman's hand was already reaching for red button beside his station, a brand new addition to the Collins for this specific mission. "It's not another sub."

Those were the last words heard for some five minutes as the alarm went off and the crew of the Collins raced to their stations. In reality, the alarm was a fairly quiet one, but the sound had been chosen for its ability to set teeth on edge and make ignoring it an impossibility.

Ozaki actually fell out of his narrow bunk in his attempt to get up before he had actually woken up and despite his lack of membership in the Collins' crew, fell into step behind the petty officer that raced past his cabin hatch.

"What's going on?"

"No idea. Last time, it was an aircraft carrier. Still sinking, but with too much air still trapped within to have actually hit the bottom. Frightened the life out of Evans. He thought it was one of those damn monsters."

Commander Nothling didn't look at all pleased to see Ozaki on the bridge. Ozaki immediately put both hands behind his back and tried to look as if he were a responsible observer and not someone about to interfere. After a suspicious look from Nothling, he wasn't ordered back to his cabin.

"Evans?"

"Yes sir."

"Shut off that alarm." Evans did so as Nothling came to look over his shoulder. "Now. Care to be more specific?"

"It's really big," Evans offered, squinting at the display. "And it's not moving at all. Slightly more worrying, that pod of whales we saw earlier did a 180 and took off in the opposite direction and I haven't seen any large schools of fish since."

"Think it's a monster?"

"I don't know. You don't usually find living things just… hanging around like that." Evans frowned.

"Is it radioactive?" Ozaki hadn't moved from his 'observer' spot, but he was doing his best to catch a glimpse of Evans’ station.

"Radioactive?" The bridge crew all turned to look at Ozaki as Nothling asked the question. "Worth?"

"Checking, sir. I wouldn't think that anything out here would – oh my god."

"I'm sorry, Petty Officer?"

"Sorry, Commander. I'm surprised our internal alarms haven't gone off. That thing should be glowing in the dark."

"If we could actually see it, I'm sure it would be." Ozaki sighed, resisting the urge to rub his forehead. "It's Godzilla."

"It's _what_?"

"Godzilla is known to be radioactive," one of the crew piped up. "But what's with the just… sitting there? I thought it was more of the rampaging type."

Nothling slowly turned from the sonar display, locking eyes with Ozaki. "That's a very good question. Do you have an answer for us?"

Ozaki met his eyes squarely. "Godzilla is waiting for us."

Waiting for him.

Commander Nothling flatly refused to bring his sub any closer to the submerged monster. “This is as close as we get. We’ll surface and see if we can get a message back to Tokyo - and then you’re on your own.” The Collins was brought to surface depth in the night sea and the message sent. Nothling accompanied his sailors to the conning tower and a small dinghy was put over the side for Ozaki.

"We won't abandon you," the Commander assured him. "But I can't risk what might be the only submarine we have by getting too close. Will you be able to reach the right area?"

"Yes, Commander. I'll find it."

A fairly strong wind slapped waves up against the submarine as Ozaki climbed down to the dinghy, allowing a seaman to cast off for him. Alone in the cold and the damp, he rowed away from the lights of the submarine and into the darkness. He was certain that he could find Godzilla, even so far beneath the choppy surface. Something about the huge monster was just - there, as if stepping unknowingly into the shadow of a large building and becoming suddenly aware of the lack of sun.

He wasn't so sure of what to do once he reached the correct location. Even for a mutant, the chill of the water would be crippling, and Godzilla himself was far, far beneath the surface. Diving in would be foolish, if not fatal. There would be no way he could reach that depth and resurface, even if he could stand the cold.

Navigating became easier the closer he approached. There was a glow somewhere far beneath, dim and flickering with the movement of the waves, but still clearly visible. The enormous bulk of the monster beneath wasn't moving, simply hanging in frigid waters, long tail visible in the flickering gleam from the plates that ran down Godzilla's back and trailing away into the black.

Ozaki had to lie flat on his stomach to peer over the edge of the inflatable dinghy, looking down at that distant glow. "Here I am," he whispered, reaching to trail his fingers in the water. He had to resist the urge to add 'now what'?

The chill of the water and the salt spray generated by the slap of the waves against the dinghy were leaving a film against his skin, and he trailed his fingers in the water, wondering why things felt so anticlimactic. The greatest terror of the civilized world, destroyer of everything in its path was hanging in the ocean deeps just below his tiny, fragile craft.

Despite Godzilla's proximity, Ozaki couldn't find it in him to be afraid. He could see the lights of the submarine in the distance, still waiting patiently on the surface for him to return or, more likely given Nothling's pessimism, to snap a few pictures of Ozaki being swallowed whole to take back to the Secretary General. It didn't disturb him.

He'd seen Godzilla, up close in a way only a handful of other people could claim. Living people, at any rate. He'd been battered, exhausted and simply worn down but none of that had held a candle to the simple fear. Godzilla was a monster, and never before had the reality of it been so crystal clear to Ozaki.

"Maybe I'm a monster."

Miyuki would've scowled at him for the comment, and he felt himself smiling at the nearly invisible bulk beneath him, seeing instead Miyuki's determination. 'You're not a monster, Ozaki. You're a _child_. Stop sulking and live up to your potential. You're greater than you know. You just have to grow into it.'

Maybe it was true.

Ozaki was finding it harder to resent the feeling of 'maybe'. He rolled over onto his back, staring up at the sky, looking at the stars between the scattered clouds. Man had always looked at space as the unknown, possessing infinite possibility.

"And the occasional group of marauding aliens."

Unused to being alone, talking to himself was a recent habit, and one Ozaki was finding difficult to break. "Aliens, monsters, mutants… we don't even know what's going on down _here_." He continued to watch the stars, trying to relax into the bobbing motion of the tiny boat.

The cool spray against his skin, combined with the wind and the cool night air were making him shiver, but he resisted the urge to pull out the blanket from the emergency kit lashed to the dinghy. He'd spent so much of his life behind walls or inside ships, and now that he'd tasted some of the wide-open feeling of the sea, he wanted more. He watched the moon make its slow way across the sky and wondered what, exactly he was waiting for.

"Maybe we're both monsters."

The dinghy rocked a little more sharply, as a larger wave dropped it downward, and Ozaki sat up, glancing back to make sure he could still see the running lights of the distant submarine.

A much closer set of lights captured his attention, and he found himself leaning backward, gripping the side of the dinghy with both hands.

Godzilla's narrowed eyes held their own light, a dark, burning color that had little in common with the bright glow they'd seen along his back in the ruins of Tokyo. The top of his head just broke the water, leaving him eye to eye with Ozaki, and those eyes had lost none of their focused anger.

That it was anger was simply something Ozaki knew and felt no desire to question.

"I –" Ozaki couldn't come up with words, feeling foolish for having come all this way to confront a creature that had chased him half-way around the world and from whom he'd been lucky to escape with his life.

The eyes didn't blink, still focused on the young man in the tiny raft.

"They wanted me to ask –" Ozaki broke off again, feeling more foolish by the moment.

He could hear distant claxons, a warning that the Collins was about to dive – presumably assuming that Ozaki was already dead and preparing to flee back to Japan. Ozaki couldn't find it in him to blame them. The sound echoed across the water, attracting Godzilla's attention, and he moved in the water, turning away from Ozaki.

"No! Wait!"

In a moment of absolute clarity, Ozaki found words tumbling free, not entirely sure Godzilla could hear him, even if whatever passed for ears might be above water, and not caring.

"I'm sorry. We're sorry. We used you to destroy our enemies, and it worked and we didn't even say thank you." Had been too busy struggling with the relief of being still able to draw breath to even think it. "We – we don't want to be your enemy. We needed you, we still need you. For all the times you've destroyed, you've also defended, and we need that, now more than ever."

It had taken weeks of combing through the files to put together the contradictory and sometimes macabre history of the enormous creature in the water, but Ozaki was certain, now, that it understood every word.

"We don't want to be enemies." He had Godzilla's attention now, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling as the huge head moved closer until the still-submerged snout was beneath the dingy, and Ozaki could feel it scraping against the bottom. "We – we want you to know that we won't be sending anyone or anything after you – and that's an astoundingly stupid thing to say, because I'm here, but –"

The dinghy flipped over, violently, and Ozaki found himself in the water, sprawled against Godzilla's skin, spitting water and wondering somewhat wildly if he dared try to get to his feet.

A familiar, fog-horn like sound alerted him to the cause of his capsize, and he turned to behold a familiar, happy looking face just before being dragged into an equally familiar and almost entirely unwelcome embrace.

"Damn it!"

Two weeks passed before a bedraggled, badly sunburned Ozaki re-appeared. He refused to be taken to the hospital, instead presenting himself before Commander Namikawa and the Secretary General just as he stood, clothing faded and bleached by salt-water and sun, and looking more like a crazy hermit than a member of the EDF.

"Godzilla," he declared somewhat hoarsely, "isn't going to bother us as long as we don't bother him."

"Can you –"

"What about – "

Ozaki held up both hands. "I don't want to talk about it," he informed them flatly. "Just – take my word for it. The next person to go chasing monsters in an attempt to strike up conversation is not going to get off so lucky."

Despite a great many questions and quite a few demands for answers, Ozaki remained stubbornly mute. They eventually had to allow him to seek treatment for his sunburn, and he retreated. Several hours later, much cleaner and looking much less like a shipwrecked sailor, he arrived at Miyuki's office. He surprised her over plans for a greenhouse, which she sent sliding to the floor

"Ozaki, you're alive!" Miyuki flew into his arms, or tried to.

"Sunburn!" He fended her off, gently. "I'm glad to see you too."

"What happened? Are you all right?"

He accepted the glass of water she offered him and leaned wearily against her desk. "I may never eat fish again."

"Is that all?"

Ozaki cracked a very small smile. "No. I learned that I should listen to you more often, or maybe more closely."

She quirked an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"That there's more to the world than being a soldier, and that perhaps there's more out there I should do."

Miyuki asked no more questions, not for several days, content to let Ozaki work his way through two weeks of being stranded at sea with Godzilla and his tinier, much friendlier counterpart.

"I quit."

"You what?" Gordon didn't sound surprised, looking at Ozaki upside down from beneath a scavenged helicopter frame. "That's not like you, boy. Plus, you can't just quit. You'd have to resign."

"I quit," Ozaki repeated. He grinned at Gordon, not minding the way the expression pulled at his sunburn. "You said it yourself. There's nothing I can do here that can't be done by someone else."

"So what'll you do? And hand me that wrench."

Ozaki found the wrench and passed it over. "The Koreans managed to salvage a heavy helicopter."

"And?" Gordon disappeared beneath the frame again.

"And I'm leaving."

A heavy thud shook the frame, and Ozaki winced. "You're what?"

"Leaving." He sank to his knees to peer beneath the frame, wincing as he took in the bump already forming on Gordon's forehead. "Miyuki thinks there are more mutants out there."

"And you think you can find them?" Gordon considered that. "It's not a bad idea. Rebuild M-Unit?"

"No." Ozaki shook his head. "M-Unit was effective for its time, but now we need something else."

"People to talk to monsters?"

"To the monsters?" Ozaki retrieved the discarded wrench, handing it back to Gordon. He'd thought long and hard about this decision, about leaving behind the familiarity of a life spent beneath orders in order to embrace a world that was fumbling along without rules or communication; trying to rebuild civilization as best it could. He could still smell the salt in the air and feel the sun on his skin and the wind on his face. Civilization was all well and good, but this time - this time perhaps they could attain it without losing sight of the wild things, the things they'd need to survive. It was time to embrace all of it - the monsters as well as their own, conflicting cultures. "To each other."

"But you'll be back."

"Of course I will." Ozaki grinned. "By then, you'll need someone to break you out of jail."

“Again."

"Again."

"Good luck, Ozaki." Gordon took the wrench and used it to shoot Ozaki a salute. "Stay out of trouble."

"I'll have to." Ozaki straightened. "Miyuki's declared herself in charge of this project. She wants to study mutants."

"You mean she wants to study you."

"Good- _bye_ , Gordon."

"See you soon."


End file.
